Portsmouth's new cruise and ferry terminal opens

Portsmouth International Port's new terminal building cost more than £16m

Passengers have begun using a new £16.5m ferry and cruise terminal at Portsmouth International Port.

The new 2,700sq m (29,000sq ft) complex opened at midnight, replacing one dating from the 1970s.

Manager Martin Putham said: "It's a very modern and up-to-date terminal, meeting the requirements of modern travel."

More than two million passengers a year are expected to use the city council-owned terminal.

'Airport experience'

The port said the new building is heated and cooled using thermal energy from seawater, using only 20% of the energy of a traditional boiler and chiller system.

BBC reporter Dominic Blake described the facility as "more like an airport experience", with new restaurants, shops, check-in desks and a dedicated VIP area, if required.

Mr Putham said the cruise market was increasingly important to Portsmouth, with a record 36 ships due in the port this year.

Brittany Ferries recently re-opened the ferry route from Portsmouth to Bilbao which was abandoned by P&O last year and the Swan Hellenic cruise ship company is due to operate out of the city in the summer.

Last year Lord Sterling, chairman of Swan Hellenic, caused controversy on a tour of the terminal when he said his passengers did not want to mix with ferry passengers, describing some of them as "semi-lager louts".

The peer later said his comments had been taken "totally out of context".